Will We Endure? (Previously 'The Dead')
by Overlord Rousdower
Summary: Post LotR, heavy AU- Thranduil is faced with an evil thought long gone. Eryn Lasgalen- Greenwood the Great- is threatened by those who will kill all without mercy, and darkness- once again- falls upon his beloved forest. The war did not end with the destruction of the Ring. Sauron may be gone, but he had another plan. Will the Greenwood prevail? Or will it fall into shadow?
1. Chapter 1

_(Edited)_

Even after all these years, the ruins of Dol Guldur had a darkness about them. It could be felt within a five mile radius, and the elves- even though the danger was supposedly gone- stayed clear of it as a rule.

Legolas, however, stood at the very edge, gazing into the darkness of the collapsed entryways. The stone was crumbling, and the entire fortress was caved in on itself. The sounds that one would normally hear in the forest were nonexistent. Something was not right… Well, despite the usual darkness. Legolas had not been present when Dol Guldur was destroyed by the Lady of Light. He had been fighting in the the War. After it ended, he had travelled the lands with Gimli, and now, the Prince had made his way home for a brief period of time.

His father had received him with open arms and tears in his eyes, which surprised Legolas. The Elvenking was not one to show emotion, nevertheless, Legolas had accepted the embrace with gladness in his heart. He had been home for a week now, and had finally decided to see the ruins for himself.

And something _wasn't_ right.

Legolas was just entering the ruins, one foot just at the threshold, but the call of a horn brought him to a standstill. It belonged to the guard…

Legolas turned and began running towards the origin of the sound. It sounded rather close, maybe ten miles, and Legolas leapt swiftly into the trees, leaping through the giant, gnarled branches. Five minutes later, he reached a clearing.

The horror he felt upon the sight was devastating.

oOo

"Adar!"

Thranduil heard his son's feet pounding towards him. Turning swiftly, he was puzzled by what he beheld. His son's face was ashen, his hands shaking.

"Legolas, ion nin?" Thranduil stepped hesitantly towards his son.

"Dead, adar, they are dead," Legolas choked out.

"Who is dead, ion nin?" Thranduil said, worry creeping into his voice.

"Th-the patrol," Legolas panted, his eyes wide.

"The patrol? What do you mean, Legolas. You are not making any sense," Thranduil huffed.

"I was at Dol Guldur-"

"_What?"_

"Adar, that's not the point," Legolas snapped. "I heard the the horn of the guard, and went to help them… but… but…" Legolas drifted off. He looked near tears. "I have never seen such a horrible sight in my life…"

"Legolas?" Thranduil was seriously concerned by now. This was very unlike his usually controlled son…

"They are dead, adar. All of them, strewn across the clearing and hanging from the trees. There was _so much blood," _Legolas whispered.

Thranduil felt the blood drain from his own face. "How…?"

"I do not know, adar, it was only five minutes… I don't know how they could have been killed that fast," Legolas turned away.

Thranduil strode out of the throne room and as he made his way to his chambers he called for the guard to ready his horse. As he pulled on his armor, his thoughts moved quickly. The war was over, his guard was thorough, nothing should have gotten in the forest without his knowing, let alone something that could do _this_ much harm.

Something strong enough to kill forty of his warriors.

oOo

He almost dropped his sword. His son's description hadn't even prepared him for the horrors contained in this clearing. Not only were his warriors lying about like dolls, hanging over branches and thrown on the ground at awkward angles, but many of them were decapitated in addition to several other missing body parts. Said body parts were strewn across the ground, with the exception of the severed heads, which were nowhere in sight.

He backed out of the clearing, tripping over his cloak, as he tried to come to terms with what he was seeing and find the courage to order his guards to take care of the bodies… He didn't want to scar his subjects, but it would need to be done. The dead needed to be buried with honor.

He would need to order the rest of the guard to search for whatever did this as well. He did not know of a creature that would remove the majority of it's victims heads, but whatever it was, it needed to be found and destroyed.

Thranduil felt the rage begin to take control of his mind. He looked to Legolas and saw the same anger mirrored in the eyes of his son.

Forty of his subjects. Dead. They said it was over. That Sauron was dead. No more wars.

Well, they must have missed something, because a war was being waged against him and his kingdom.

And no matter what…

They would endure.

**A/N: I need to stop making more stories. GRRRR.**

**Anyways, this may end up getting deleted, it may not. Depends on the reception I guess ^_^ The chapters will probably be short? I don't know… *sigh* Oh and the title is subject to change because I'm not sure about****it... **

**How do you guys like it? Yeah, it is super dark… Eh… What do you guys think, continue or no? This is a continuation for my story "Spiders of Mirkwood" sort of.. but you do not need to read that. It actually might give you spoilers… But you can if you want.**

**Review and tell me! **

**Rousdower out_**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: CHAPTER ONE WAS EDITED, YOU MAY WANT TO REREAD. ONLY MINOR CHANGES MADE. STILL MAY WANT TO REREAD. TITLE HAS BEEN CHANGED. PREVIOUSLY: THE DEAD. NOW: WILL WE ENDURE? DESCRIPTION HAS ALSO RECEIVED MAKEOVER. THANK YOU.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own and you no sue, do da, do da…**

* * *

Thranduil, though reluctant to do so, sent out another patrol as soon as he reached the palace. They had orders to only seek out the disturbance, but not to confront it until it's identity was reported back to the king. The threat needed to be eliminated as soon as possible, with no casualties, if possible.

Legolas had wanted to accompany them, but neither his father, nor the guard would hear of it. His father for a quite obvious reason, and the guard simply because they believed that the royal family must stay intact at all costs.

The palace was eerily silent. The word of the mysterious deaths had spread quickly, by now Thranduil was sure that there was not an elf who hadn't heard of it. As soon as Thranduil entered the throne room, he ordered all citizens to be brought inside the gates of the palace, and for all entrences to be sealed off.

"Do not let anyone out of these walls without my permission under _any_ circumstances," Thranduil commanded, pacing in front of his throne. The guards in front of him bowed and made a hasty exit.

"Adar… Do you have _any_ idea of what could have caused this?" Legolas asked, stepping from the shadows of a nearby column.

"No, ion nin… I am going to go to the library… I must see if I can find any evidence of reports similar to this," Thranduil said tiredly. His day had turned around so fast, he was not quite sure his mind had grasped the full context of what was going on.

Legolas merely nodded his head before wandering off in the direction of the kitchens. Thranduil allowed a faint smile. Ever since he was little, Legolas would get a sweet tooth whenever stressful events took place… Whatever it was, be it a sever scolding or the entrance test to the Guard, Legolas would find the nearest sugary treat and devour it. Thranduil's smile slipped off of his face. The sight in the forest had hurt Legolas… It had hurt Thranduil as well. Legolas had come home, expecting a reprieve from the horror and bloodshed, only to find that his own home has been attacked… at least during the War he had known what enemies he faced.

The same went for the Elvenking…

oOo

"My lord! You must come to the healing quarters immediately!"

Thranduil sharply turned away from the bookshelf and eyed the panicked expression on Galion's face.

"What is it?"

"A-a member of the guard, my liege…" Thranduil had never seen Galion look so frightened in his life.

Following his panicking butler, the full meaning of what had just been said to him hit Thranduil like a bag of rocks to the head. The guard. Someone from the guard had returned… Picking up his pace, the Elvenking swept past the distressed Galion and made his way alone to the healing quarters.

Before he had even reached his destination, Thranduil knew something was terribly wrong.

The healing quarters were yet several corridors away, and Thranduil could already hear screaming.

Bracing himself, he picked up his pace once more. It sounded like there was only one elf… definitely a male. He was not sure if that was a good sign or not. It could mean two things… Either there was only one elf wounded…

Or there was only one elf left.

Opening the doors to the healing room, Thranduil took in the sight before him. Several healers were backed against the wall on either side of him, casting frightened glances in between him and an object on the far side of the room… the source of the bone-chilling screams. There was only two or three braver healers, attempting to get close to the screaming elf, but it soon became apparent why they could not.

The elf was pulling hard at his hair, already there were clumps of it visible on the floor. There was no visible injury to the ellon, and Thranduil was confuse until he caught a glimpse of his eyes.

They were crazed. The eyes of someone who did not know themselves or anything else anymore. The eyes in question darted towards the Elvenking, and the screaming seemed to grow in magnitude… it no longer sounded like the voice of one, but had somehow magnified into the voice of many. Several healers were crumpled on the floor, there hands over their ears.

Thranduil barely resisted the urge to do the same, instead beginning to chant;

_"__Odulen an edraith anlen. Sidhe… Loste…"_

It took several minutes for it to work, but the distraught guard member eventually slumped over, the grip on his hair finally relaxing.

"Get him comfortable, restrain his arms.. and somebody tell me exactly what happened," Thranduil snapped.

One of the healers, an ellith, approached him.

"Speak."

"My lord, nobody is sure of how he got here exactly…"

"Got where? The healing chambers? The gates? Be more descriptive," Thranduil said impatiently. The healer's eye twitched slightly.

"Adar…"

The Elvenking turned to see his son giving him a reprimanding look.

"They are not sure how he reached the gates… the found him lying on the bridge, convulsing," the healer continued, looking slightly nervous. "They brought him to the healing quarters as soon as they found him… he was unresponsive by the time they got here. He wasn't moving.. he was barely breathing. We were examining him for any surface injuries, but we found none, and then he just…" the healer drifted off, eying the now unconscious elf in question. "He shot up and began babbling nonsense before he began to scream, just like you heard… by then someone had been sent to fetch you, my king."

"What was he saying?" Thranduil asked, rubbing his temples.

"I… could not understand him. I am sorry, my lord…" the healer ducked her head. Thranduil waved his hand dismissively.

"Check for poisoning. Observe him… Do not leave him unattended. Notify my _immediately _if any changes take place," the king ordered, turning to leave.

There was a collective gasp from the surrounding healers.

Thranduil turned to find the previously unconscious elf sitting upright and staring at him.

His eyes…

… Bleeding?

Thranduil's thoughts were interrupted by a voice so dark, one could hardly believe it was coming from the mouth of an elf.

"**Aran. Tol di menta…"**

Thranduil locked eyes with the ellon opposite. A dark, wry grin spread across the lips of the guard sitting in the bed.

**"****Eryn Lasgalen.. enpathra Taur-nu-Fuin… Amortam… fodram galadam…"**

* * *

**A/N: WOW. I UPDATED.**

**Ok before I forget: Translations:**

Adar- father

Ion nin- my son

Odulen an edraith anlen.- I am here to heal you (roughly)

Sidhe- peace

Loste- sleep

**Aran. Tol di menta…-** King, I bring a message

**Eryn Lasgalen.. enpathra Taur-nu-Fuin… Amortam… fodram galadam**…- Eryn Lasgalen will once again become the forest of the night (i**n other words, Mirkwood) **We will rise… Light will fall.

**How was it guys? Was it interesting? Are you intrigued? I have some huge plans for this story Muahaha… anywho.**

**It is very late so the quality is hopefully ok *cringe***

**Thank you to- **

**Wunderkind4006- GOOD.**

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**btmarshall14- Thank you! I have changed the title though XD since my plans for the story changed as well LOL**

**Just A Reviewer- LOL! I hope you liked this! Thank you for the review LOL XD**

**Pip the Dark Lord of All- I WON'T! I WILL NOT DELETE IT! I feel this shall become my greatest work yet LOL**

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**A fan of Many Stuffs- LOL well now it's changed since then… the spider story may only be vaguely related now LOL I WON'T DELETE IT I PROMISE! .. And what? LOL**

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**Now, goodnight!**

**Rousdower out_**


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